Tamil Nadu State India: City Management, Places of Interest
Chennai | Chidambaram | Coimbatore | Hogenakal | Kanchipuram | Kanyakumari | Kodaikkanal | Madurai | Mamallapuram | Nagapattinam | Udhagamandalam (Ooty) | Poompuhar | Pudukktai | Rameshwaram | Thanjavur | Theni | Tiruneveli | Trichi | Yercaud
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THANJAVUR
Places
of Interest |
Places
Around
This
ciy of Thanjavur, also called the 'granary of south
India' is well connected by road - the 500 km drive is
smooth and the views on either side are spectacular.
Famous for its Tanjore paintings; a variety of musical
instruments and several temples of notes are its other
highpoints.
Scenically one of the most enchanting districts in the state, green, airy, Thanjavur lies to the east of Trichy and has the reputation as the Rice Bowl of Tamil
Nadu.
It is not surprising that the great Cholas chose Thanjavur as the location of some of their most magnificent creations, since this now small city once occupied the proud position as their capital and most treasured territory.
Though the history
of Thanjavur is far older than the Chola period itself, it is during their reign between the 10th and 14th centuries that the city rose to dizzying heights, becoming the centre of Tamil learning and culture.
The Tamil University, set up recently is situated here and is devoted to the growth of Tamil literature and language. Today, what remainds of its glorious legacy are the temples of the
Cholas, not less than 74 of which are around Thanjavur itself.
One of the best temples in South India, the Brahadeeshwarar temple or the Big Temple built by the greatest Chola emperor Raja Raja
Chola, is that dynasty's finest contribution to Dravidan temple architecture.
What makes the construction so unique is the diversion from the usual temple building norms of having a tall gopuram and a smaller vimanam (the tower over the sanctum). At the Big temple the vimanam soars high while the gopuram remain stunted.
The 64.8m tall, 14 tiered pyramid shaped vimanam rises from a square base and is topped by a huge monolithic cupolas carved out from an 81.3 tonne block of granite that was installed with the aid of a 6km long inclined plane.
The tower is a testimony to the engineering skill of the Chola architects who planned its construction in such a way that the shadow of the cupola never falls on the ground.
In keeping the 'bigness' of the temple is the gigantic Mahalingam in the shrine and the massive Nandi at the portals. Measuring 6m in length, 2.6m in breath and 3.7m in height, it is the second largest monolithic Nandi in the country.
Not far from the temple is the Palace which was built by the Nayakas and renovated by the Marathas. It dates back to the 1550s and houses an art gallery, a library and a hall of music.
The Raja Raja Chola Art Gallery has some fine pieces of stone and bronze sculptures from the 9th and 12th centuries. Over 30,000 Indian and European manuscripts written on palm leaf and paper are preserved in the Saraswathi Mahal Library.
The Sangeetha Mahal is an acoustically perfect musical hall that testifies to the skill of its boundaries. East of the palace is the Schwartz Church which was built in 1779 by Raja Serfoji in honour of Revered Schwartz of Denmark.
